August 9, 2009

LOLITA MYTH-BUSTING

Now that my articles “The Cult of Angelic Pretty, Part I, II,and III” are all done, I figured I should open another section to this blog. This is called Lolita Myth-Busting and will be a once-a-week thing. Until I run out of myths.

Lolita fashion is filled with rumors, myths, and supposed incidents. Now, don’t come here looking for drama, because none of these myths will be about other lolitas. So, no posts about, “This picture of this one lolita, lolitaonegl was taken. It’s her in Puppet Circus. But it was taken one year before P.C was released. So, what’s the deal?”

This first myth is something that I have been cultivating for a little while now. It’s probably the biggest myth in the lolita world. But it ain’t a good one, so all y’all better listen up, because this girl needs to GTFO and GTFO fast.

“La Carmina is No Lolita”

Most lolitas have heard of this girl, La Carmina (who will be referred to as LC so as not to give her any interweb points). Or La Failmina.

LC is a major blogger who claims to blog on “Gothic and Lolita fashion”. While she does have a basic, but shaky grasp of Gothic and Lolita fashion, she fails to portray it in its rightful manner. A manner that has been decided on and perfected throughout the Lolita timeline. Her blog would be more artfully named for Japanese Gothic Street Fashion. Yet, LC still claims that she is a Lolita “expert”, and her aptness at marketing herself has led others to belief this as well.

LC cannot be called an expert on Lolita fashion, as she does not represent the fashion as a whole, or even one sub-set. It’s difficult to represent every single sub-set of Lolita, but even if you lean more towards Gothic, or Sweet, or Classical, you should not go around criticizing the other sects. LC once referred to Sweet Lolita’s as “mincing pink dollies.” Continuing on this thought, LC constantly mocks other lifestyles that do not adhere to her “cool and edgy gothic” attitude. To me, this shows an immature outlook, and a desperate attempt to try and seem “so edgy”

LC reminds and reminds us that she has traveled to Japan, so of course this makes her The-Expert-On-All-Things-Lolita-and-Japanese. Wrong! Many Lolita’s have either taken a trip or lived in Japan (check out Xelyna the Gothic Lolita’s blog) She peppers her blog entries with “kawaii” “sayonara” “bentoo” etc. Going to Japan does not make you an expert on Lolita. It just gives you that little stamp in your passport.

There are multiple Lolita communities throughout the internet, and LC does not participate in any of them. As Muten Sutra said in her amazing article, “La Carmina Is Not a Lolita Expert”; “One would think that a person with their finger on the pulse on the fashion would be an active part in the largest community.” LC does not participate because the EGL girls do not seem to find her “Lolita” outfits acceptable. A person who is not familiar with this fashion might think, “Gee, that’s a little harsh. Why are the EGL girls being so mean?”

The EGL community on LiveJournal is considered the heart and soul of the Western Lolita world. On it, you can find Lolita’s from all over the world, in all varying degrees and styles of Lolita. EGL contains everything from picture posts, requests, tutorials, and advice and support from other Lolita’s. (Check the memories. They contain wonders.) LC is not a part in this community. She does not follow any other Western Lolita community to see what is up. Although the EGL community is criticized for being “mean” and “elitist”, it is a vital source for any starting Lolita.

To be blunt, LC’s marketing of herself makes her “a Lolita expert. She brags how her blog gets over two million hits a month, and she has legions of fans. Most Lolita’s on EGL are more inclined to believe that most of the hits are self-generated, and the “fans” are just LC posting under a different name. There was actually a mini-investigation last year into this, where all the praising, loving comments on her blog were found to have come from the same IP address. This is just a rumor thought. But it seems to fit into her trend of being a general attention-grabbing, I-am-so-superior-look-at-all-the-people-who-love-me ways.

Are we other Lolita’s just being mean? Are we just jealous that she is the “Lolita expert” and we’re not? Are we all butthurt and BAWWWWING about how she is the supposed “western Lolita expert?” NOPE.

What makes Lolita’s in the EGL community dislike her so much is that she constantly provides a stream of false information concerning “Lolita”. (i.e. – anything with a ruffle and some lace on it is so Lolita).

Polite comments and attempts to tell her that her Lolita outfits are a little bit off, and if she did ____ and ___ it would make it better, have been met with rudeness and snide comments. She’s been known to outright delete comments that do not favor her, to make it seem like she only has adoring fans. She maintains that her way of dressing Lolita is the only way, and we are all just being haters because we are not cool or creative enough to dress in ripped t-shirts and ruffled miniskirts and call it Lolita.

The final straw was when she disrupted a fashion show at the New York Comic-Con meant for American Lolita designers. She called the stage “too drab” and filled with sweet Lolita “mincing dollies”; hence she jumped on the stage to prance around a bit in the name of her gothic rebellion. She had to be removed by the security off the stage. THIS MADE US LOLITAS VERY ANGRY.

As her blog is regarded by press to be “the source for gothic and lolita”, it is only an asset to the lolita community that a better blog is opened. Some people who are not familiar with the style may wonder why we take so much offense and start so much drama over a matter like this. The answer’s simple- we want people to have a positive outlook on lolita fashion. We dress in a ridiculous style that many find odd- but we want people to know that lolita is so much more then cheap black lipstick paired with a ripped shirt. It’s so much more.

So to everyone who is new to Lolita or whatever, listen! There are so many other bloggers on Lolita. They may not update every second. They may not post pictures of themselves constantly. But they know the Lolita fashion, and they know what they are talking about. So do some research before you suppose anyone is an expert on Lolita fashion. In my opinion, I don’t think anyone is. Every Lolita worth her ribbons can tell you how it started, what makes Lolita, some Lolita brands, etc. Lolita fashion changes so much in style it’s hard to be an expert on it, like you would be with history or something.

Yeah, this article is totes biased. But you have to know that the EGL community does not like this girl and her attention-whoring ways. Seriously. Do you want someone to bastardize your alternate fashion that isn’t taken seriously in the first place?

We are not being mean. We have a sub-culture, underground fashion that is looked at as an oddity by the typical person. While lolitas love the fashion, we all admit to some degree that we look ridiculous to the passerby. While the average person may not take our fashion seriously, we want them to know that lolitas are good girls. We eat, sleep, drink, and act like people. We just like our skirts poofy and we like us some frills. LC’s outlook on the fashion (and her actions) makes it seem like lolitas are all just dumb chicks who wear ratty stockings, don’t wash our hair/can’t do our makeup, and that we are just edgy people trying to be rebellious and get attention. As the Lolita subculture is in a very precarious spot with the media, we need all the good representation we can get. LC is just not making that cut.